This is NOT a post.

So, once more, I think I’m getting a horrible cold, which since the first symptoms mimic the early symptoms I’m afflicting characters with in Darkship Revenge I spent two days thinking was psychosomatic. Then I took the steroids for the outbreak of auto-immune. And the stuffiness is starting to recede along with the eczema, leading me to believe this entire thing is just another dang auto-immune attack.

I hate taking steroids because they make me gain weight, and seriously, I’d prefer to gain it by eating chocolate cake.

Yeah, the outbreak of eczema/asthma/arthritis was bad around the time a member of the family had surgery, (really bad, it was the reason I couldn’t sleep for several days), abated somewhat, and then inexplicably started up again, full force around the election, and seemed to settle into a permanent pattern of irritation.

This is not unusual . So in my round of doctors’ appointments I went in and asked for “the usual” which is antibiotic, steroid cream and steroid tablets. But I was hoping to hold off on the steroid tablets. The Nurse Practicioner agreed with my plan to take the antibiotic first (because one time before, the antibiotic was enough to calm things down and then I could control it with the cream.

Well, not this time. Maybe it has gone on too long. Anyway, it seems to be taking care of the breathing too.

We have friends coming over tonight, and the house is a zoo, so I’m going to do be doing some picking up and cleaning, though the dinner is the usual weekend dinner chez Hoyt: a bunch of finger foods, a few bottles of wine, because even when we don’t have guests, when both boys come to eat with us we’ll talk and debate till morning.

So this is a non-post-post.

For reasons known only to my friends, who are like you maniacs but worse, I got not one, not two, but three messages THROUGH THE NIGHT telling me Fidel is dead.

If this matches the other communist regimes, this is a time of hope. The transition might or might not work. I know Raul has been in charge for a while, and THIS transition might hold, but the next one might be the one that breaks it. Communist regimes always devolve into dynasties, and I don’t think there’s a clear success to Raul, and he’s getting old. I’m almost hopeful that 2016 will do for him.

2016 has been characterized as “the year in which gods bleed” and it seems to be true, from the harvesting of beloved celebrities to the puncturing of the left’s certainty of their infallible chosen successor. (A certainty so great that, let’s be honest, they convinced even US of it.)

It’s a little tricker with the “progressive” movement, because they’re not one movement, but several, and they don’t have a “set date” for the arrival of utopia. Not as such. Which makes disconfirmation more difficult.

But I know a lot of the black leftist voters (okay, not the smarter ones) who voted for Obama expected him to become “our king” and usher in a system of black-rule forever. That obviously didn’t happen. (I know because of their comments, on blogs, and overheard the days after election.)

I know a lot of white leftist voters expected Obama to be “sort of a god” and even though they cling (bitterly) to the idea that he was one of our great presidents (despite fricked up economy internally and wars abroad) they show signs that the discomfirmation upset them.

Probably the most pitiable group are the millenials. My younger son tells me they were told that there would never again be a Republican president in their lifetime. He’s promised me a post about this and about the reactions he’s seen. I’ll see if I can get him to read When Prophecy Fails this weekend. (If he doesn’t have tests next week.) And then I’ll see how that fits.

But to an extent what we’re seeing is what would happen if after a communist revolution, people insisted on going back to the ancien regime. It’s sort of like watching the restoration in Frnace, I imagined. What this country has gone through is nothing less than a putsch and they’re astonished that it didn’t take. Even my generation was indoctrinated. How come it didn’t hold?

If they studied real history they’d realize even when a regime is totalitarian (which we always fell sort of, though Europe comes close) and the information tightly controlled, after a few years or generations the real world breaks in. Cults have limited ability to keep their followers in, much less a cult forced on a large population.

We know two things for sure: on January 2017 the economy will be found to have suddenly collapsed and it will be Trump’s fault the day he’s sworn in. (Some of this is already happening. Apparently NPR predicted a disastrous Black Friday because Trump.) And Trump will be the Worst President Ever the first day of his presidency. Or, as we’re seeing, before.

But the thing is, if he does achieve even 1/10th what he has promised and turn some of the collectivist policies around, and unfetter our poor shackled economy even minimally, eventually the cognitive dissonance of disconfirmation will set in.

For some it will be the last disconfirmation, the one that sets them free. Others will just go crazier.

Interesting times ahead, and thank heavens for the internet that makes the “unified narrative” of the MSM if not unimportant at least not all prevasive.

And now that I can breathe again, I’m going to clean the house and get ready for company.

This is not a post. There will vignettes, promo post, and likely Dark Fate tomorrow.

Also planned is a shortish MHI comes to Goldport. AND I’m going to put my indie stuff on sale for cyber Monday.

Now go pet your cats/dogs/walk your kids/sit down with a good book. This is the extended holiday weekend. Go remember how good your life is, before you strive to make it better.

117 responses to “This is NOT a post.”

Oh, hey, I wanted to mention that the same people who make “Anti Monkey Butt” powder also make an anti-eczema skin lotion. No knowledge whether it works, just mentioning it. Their website is amusing too.

And also, FWIW, I get something sort of eczema-lite with intractable itching not particularly responsive to topical steroids and have discovered (while trying to spread said steroid that Gold Bond Ultimate “Healing with Aloe” somewhat relieves and then reduces recurrence. (No financial interest on my part.)

Sigh. I seem to be allergic to aloe. Slight outbreaks respond to goldbond eczema. Stronger outbreaks can be banished with sinalar. SERIOUS outbreaks that get into my lungs and joints need oral steroids. And SERIOUSLY why am I having 3 to 4 of these a year now?

Can you tolerate ginger? High dose ginger is the best anti-inflammatory bar none, does not react with any medication, and can be self dose adjusted for your body and needs. I get mine at Sprouts or Whole Foods in 1500mg capsules and adjust as needed for maintenance and flares. Dr. Low Dog at the University of Arizona has done extensive research with it and highly recommends its use. Might make sense for you and your symptoms. Just take with meals to avoid reflux at the higher levels and lying flat in bed afterwards.

Really, from the day before Thanksgiving (USA) to the day after Christmas, it’s best to stay out of most stores. Grocery stores/supermarkets are generally alright between those times, but the day before Thanksgiving is crazy-go-nuts. If I must venture into certain places (such as mauls, er, malls) I will at least bring earplugs to deal with the subpar and overly loud Christmas muzak and crowd noise. I once made the mistake of going without. Went into Sears, to the power tools section, got earplugs. “Would you like a bag?” “No thanks, I’m wearing them here.”

Frankly, I expect he’s been dead for a while. In all the photos I’ve seen of him in the last few years, he looked badly embalmed and possibly stuffed. I suppose his handlers dropped him and an arm broke off. Sawdust everywhere…..

Interesting coverage last night – BBC-News was in shock, their hero was gone, how could this be, with the poor newsreader blinking back her tears and struggling to keep talking – they initially carried on with their next story, video of a disturbingly large Steven Segal receiving his new Russian passport from Putin himself, but then were right back to a canned package on Fidel, and then back live talking reverently about “The Revolution.” I learned from the Beeb that the sainted Fidel only sided with the Russians in the Cold War because Eisenhower wouldn’t meet with him when he visited the US after “The Revolution” in 1959. Everything is all the Stupid Americans fault, don’t you know. They repeated over and over and over how Fidel “outlived nine American Presidents” – not sure what that was about. They also repeated how while Fidel’s “Human Rights Record” was bad, and did admit he was a dictator, he gave his inmates free healthcare!

Switching over to CNN was not much better, which went straight into “A Great Man Has Died” mode with wall to wall coverage.

Interestingly, Fox News didn’t even break out of their prerecorded earlier shows, and even then only for a quick “Fidel Castro is dead, and now back to the other program already in progress” update from the LA anchor desk – obviously the third string at Fox News working late night on the day after Thanksgiving is not very quick on the uptake.

I’m trying to be hopeful – it’s tough for an island with a very efficient secret police and informant structure, plus a convenient pressure relief where the most dissatisfied can be allowed to escape, to have enough internal pressure for change. We’ll see.

While Fidel’s absence from the living is not a sufficient condition for a truly free Cuba, it has seemed and likely is a necessary one. I was going to forego the Cuba Libre since this a step, and the not the last step. $HOUSEMATE decided otherwise, so a couple bottles of genuine sugar-sweetened Coca-Cola are chilling.

I saw a tweet or two of people (guess the political persuation here)saying “Shameful! They are celebrating the death of a human being!”
Well son, the folk you see celebrating are ex-pat Cubans, who likely know someone, or were related to someone who died, and Fidel was the one who is responsible for the Someone . . .likely many Someones, not being alive now, or dying a natural death, unless you think firing squads, beatings, etc. are natural
Feckin morons.

There were similar celebrations (only a lot less peaceful) when Saddam was hung. There was some sentiment by various people that when the next round were strung up at last there would be more decorum. Not because those being strung up deserved better, but because they country they trashed did and deserved to be seen as civilized It was interesting to hear from the locals and NOT just the hand picked ones by the news media. Though most of my ‘hearing’ was second hand. *passes the salt*

They repeated over and over and over how Fidel “outlived nine American Presidents” – not sure what that was about.
——————

The fact that Castro was still alive long after numerous American presidents who wanted him out were long gone was always something of an embarrassment to the “mighty” United States. Personally, I’m just glad he’s gone to join his buddy Che. Hopefully Raul will be along shortly.

The attitude of the press reminds me of something that Cuban-American actress Natalie Morales (who co-starred in the TV series ‘Middleman’, and has presumably done some other roles since then) wrote shortly after Obama opened up Cuba to the US. She wrote an opinion piece entitled, “Please Stop Saying You Want To Go To Cuba Before It’s Ruined”. I think the title alone should give you a pretty good idea what the piece is about. And I think it’s safe to say that she doesn’t agree with the press’s fawning obituaries.

They repeated over and over and over how Fidel “outlived nine American Presidents” – not sure what that was about.

What does it mean?

That they cannot do math. There have been 11 Presidents who have held office during Fidel Castro first formed a provisional government in Cuba. (Eisenhower to Obama Note: Obama was sworn in a little over a month before Raul was given leadership.) Five are still alive, Carter, GHW Bush, Clinton, GW Bush and Obama. According to the arithmetic that I was taught if you take five from eleven what remains is six.

It also means that we keep changing our leadership, no one here gets ‘elected’ President for Life.

Fidel was thirty-three upon becoming el presidente, too young to have become US president, so it is no surprise he outlived any of them.

N.B., he did not out live Luis Tiant, beloved pitcher for the Boston Red Sox:

Tiant, who won 229 games and went to three All-Star Games in a major league career that spanned from 1964 to 1982, spoke with ESPN’s Marly Rivera in a Q&A published Saturday. Now 76, the native of Marianao, Cuba, said that Castro’s punitive policies on emigration devastated families and “hampered the development of baseball” in his homeland.

“Cuba was the country with the most Latin American players in the majors until the regime took over and set everything back,” Tiant said. “It’s incredible, all those players that were unable to succeed, so many good ones. When I played, when I left, there were 50 or 60 players as good as me or better than me. And they could never get out. They all stayed there.

“That’s a hard thing, because everyone in life must have an opportunity to be someone, to be able to do what you love, what you dreamed of as a child,” he continued. “That should not be taken away from anyone. That is what happened: They took away the freedom, the happiness, the dreams that one had as a boy, all you wanted to be and never could.”

Tiant was one of the relatively fortunate few who had a fairly easy path to defection, because he was playing baseball professionally in Mexico at the time Castro rose to power, and he declined to return to Cuba in 1961. However, Tiant was rarely able to see his parents; his mother visited him in Mexico City in 1968, and both she and his father, a former pitcher in his own right, reunited with him in 1975.

It wasn’t until 2007 that Tiant was able to return to Cuba, and the death of Castro had the Red Sox icon thinking of the many who perished while trying to flee that country. “The most difficult thing is that we don’t really know the number of people who lost their lives crossing the Gulf of Mexico, if there are 20, 80, 100 thousand, a million missing,” he told Rivera. “I had a family of friends, that was about 40 people, many people, who went out in a boat, and it broke in half. And they all died. All of them. Just gone. And that’s very hard; those are the things that one knows.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/11/27/luis-tiant-fidel-castros-regime-took-away-the-freedom-the-happiness-the-dreams/

I’ve been wanting to say, “Well, I don’t have any bad advice to give you for your autoimmune stuff” and then provide a long list of bad advice…but I cannot. My wife is just beginning her autoimmune odyssey (RA and osteo-arthritis, possibly another disorder or two as well), so we haven’t yet collected much advice to deal with autoimmune disorders yet, either good or bad…

Black Friday is crappy locally for me but that’s because the national consumer-focused retailers have mostly left the area except for Wal-Mart, J.C. Penny, Office Depot and Dollar General. Our “mall” has devolved into a flea market. We won’t affect the local scores much in my immediate area due to the commute required to get to “major retailers”.

Online ordering has been a mixed bag. Bags of electronics parts and a Lt. Leary novel should be on their way soon.

Home Depot and Lowes’ are around here, of course, but they’re not the places I think of first for Black Friday. Then again, I guess I could go looking for some conduit and wire to run…

Lowe’s was looking to build here, but during one of the Summers of Recovery(tm), they thought better of it. (Same with Sonic Drive in–can’t imagine how well they’d do during our sub-zero spells…) Didn’t have a burning need to go into town for Black Friday, but Boxing Day can be good for bargains.

If the housing market ever recovers, and logging is allowed, and the mills crank it up a bit, we might get a good local economy again. As it stands, even the hair/nail salons (the first local alternative business for women out of work) and used car lots (ditto for men) have gone through the bubble-and-bust cycle. OTOH, there’s a market for mechanics who can fix GM vehicles, since we don’t have any such dealers anymore.

Have I mentioned that our county is awfully conservative for Oregon? It’s one of the places in the state where you can see a Subaru sporting a Trump sticker, without vandalism. If Ore-exit ever got traction, State-of-Jefferson would, too.

Pretty much the same up here, Though all we have is a Menard’s. but there are a few places to avoid, like Shopko, Kmart (Yes, we actually have one!) the mall with Younkers, Kohl’s and of course the WallyWorld.
HD and Lowes are longer trips (Green Bay for HD, Oshkosh b’gosh for Lowes) but even though I needed stuff yesterday, there was no way in hell I was getting near even Menards. Just to snag a fast food lunch, I had to run to the furthest part of town from the stores. Everything on both sides of the river/border were stuffed with people taking a break from black friday shopping.

Yesterday, we watched old movie “Back to School” and laughed and laughed. Such a relief after weeks of political news even though it had a good finale.

As to Fidel, WGAS. I was privileged to work with a world-renown physician from a poor family in a poor part of Cuba (prior to Fidel and communism) most of whose school class went on to become doctors, lawyers, etc. He was very informative about schools, health care, etc. that he experienced. Very interesting and also very different from anything published in MSM.

Yeah, I’ve known several Cubans over the years, I’m sure they were dancing in the streets.
Sorta like the case with my former co-worker, who was Cambodian, leftoids always seem shocked that these people are no fans of their socialism or communism, especially their heros. Nearly as shocked as the co-worker in the mid ’80s who discovered that a black girl from South Africa was not a supporter of Nelson Mandela (her reply pealed paint! He thought for sure offering his support for freeing the man would be appreciated. Doesn’t work when he is responsible for the death of family)

Yeah the steroids are the worst. I was on a protocol that ended with 5 days of high dose prednisone. I felt awful and for some reason it made me feel like a chipmunk on crack. Artificially induced ADD, Weight gain and it means I will end up with cataract 10 years sooner. You have my deepest sympathies.

Hey as an aside if you’ve had lots steroid treatments (especially prednisone) make sure your optometrist/ophthalmologist knows it. The steroids can affect several eye issues including cataracts, glaucoma and potentially attachment of the retina to the back of the eye. You were saying you were having vision issues so its something to discuss with a professional.

That makes much sense. The fight or flight idea certainly matches much of what I was feeling. But the was also a sheer inability to focus or hold a cogent thought. Seriously not fun. The cure was however better than the alternative…

While the passing of Fidel is a big deal in some regards, certainly from the left wing socialists’ perspective, keep in mind that he handed power and control of Cuba over to younger brother Raul something like six years ago. Raul was born in 1931 so probably won’t be around all that much longer himself. I have little insight into Cuban politics so don’t know if or who might be the logical successor. As our fearless leader saw fit to lift the bans on Cuban/American trade, I suspect unless a Fidel level despot takes control, to see an Americanization of the island as US companies reinsert their influence into the lives of the Cuban people.

Remember that the West in general, apart from the US, has been doing business with the island for quite a while now. But the Castros have been very careful about limiting exposure to only the resorts.

Michael Totten did a great piece on Cuba that shows just how awful the place is, and also explains why the non-tourist parts of the country look so horrible. It’s not necessarily that people want to live in homes that look like they’re in a war zone. It’s that expending the time and effort necessary to make your home look semi-decent attracts the attention of the government, who start to inquire as to why *you* are able to do things that your neighbors are not. Obviously you must be visiting the country’s black market.

Incidentally, speaking of the Cuban tourist industry, there’s a Cuban joke that goes like this –

Young Cuban woman wails to her mother –

“He told me that he works in the tourist industry, but it turns out that he’s only a brain surgeon!”

(explainer – Cubans all earn the exact same wages regardless of their job; Cubans working in the tourist industry *also* get to keep part of the tips that they receive)

Did not learn of Fidel’s death until after a nap that left me more irritable than rested. Went to Fox, and found that Shrillary is joining in calling for a “recount” of three states, which offset anything positive I might feel at the death of Castro. Raul was already in power, anyway. Find myself wondering if Obama or Ted Turner will attend the funeral.

I assume National Propaganda Radio didn’t mention that “Black Friday” is sort of smudged over several days now, beginning at 6:00 PM at WalMarts, who where already deploying plastic wrapped pallets of goodies Thursday morning (went in for a medical item we forgot last week and discovered we needed). Not being a comrade, I’ve dropped public radio, so I haven’t heard them rant in a while.

The “recount” is just political theater, like the endless ranting over the Electoral College. Its purpose is to motivate the idiots (“see, we’re still fighting!”) and to push a narrative about the Republicans somehow cheating and Trump being an illegitimate president.

Power Line has some good comment on the recount, such as why not New Hampshire where the margin was under 3K votes?

There are also questions being raised about where Stein is getting the money for this.

As for Fidel, there is some pleasure to be had from the Liberals declaring their admiration for his looting of Cuba legacy, as in Justin Trudeau’s expression of regret

“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest serving President.

“Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century. A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro made significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.

The most irritating thing about Trudeau’s statement was that he presumed to offer condolences and sorrow “on behalf of all Canadians.” I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that there might be at least one or two Canadians who disagree…

I am surprised that my leftist facebook friends aren’t in mourning over this. Awfully quiet out there. There are times I wish Justin Trudeau inherited his father’s wits, and then I realize the more witless he is and reveals himself the sooner the Canadian populace wakes up. Three more years of this mental midget.

This is actually a bit of a surprise to me. I’d have thought that people might be a bit leery about the (admittedly probably remote) possibility that Trump would quite keeping the interest rate at zero percent, which would make things other than stock shares viable investment options.

Permit, me, if you will, a write a much better Presidential eulogy for Fidel Castro:

“My fellow Americans, today we mourn the passing of a man who greatly increased emigration from his country to ours during his time in office. Furthermore, we should all think him for providing an excellent object lesson in economics and the value of free markets to a society. Finally, his contributions to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union should be remembered by all Americans.”

This is not a random off-topic explanation (copied from part of a MGC reply, yet) then…

Identifying as Mythological – Though I can deal with Imaginary and Fictional, some other terms are.. sometimes rather less flattering.
Bovine – Moo. Duh.
Ox – Ox being an educated bovine (even if in most cases it’s not much more than knowing one’s gee from one’s haw.) And people understand ox slow.
Bull – Though I will use “Ox” as bull is often interpreted to be senselessly dangerous while ox is interpreted as “beneficial/useful, mostly harmless.”
Minotaur – Technically wrong, but I know what I look like and if people want a short-hand description, no sense in arguing, usually. And there are times a nice secluded labyrinth seems appealing – also technically wrong for the term, but it applies all the same. And I’d want some amenities. Electrical and water service, internet connection, a proper food supply (NOT “human sacrifices”). A few other things, but the description is already lengthy.

I can deal with “monster” and “beast”[1] but those are more “things friends who know when it’s appropriate/not inappropriate” can use.

[1] Is there any guy who would object to ‘beast’ when preceded by ‘sexy’ or the like? Not that I expect to ever hear that one myself.

Have you considered investing in a recliner? After my surgeries and during treatments I became down right enamored of recliners. Yes, recliners. They allowed me to sit up and lie down all at the same time, with judicious use of pillows and blankets I could relax into a state of some measure of comfort. (Momma would have paled at the thought.)

Yes, if you have to decide between rest to help you recover more quickly and writing free stories for ME (It is all about ME ME ME after all), please have the rest. I’m reliably informed that not getting what I want is supposed to help me build character (although, I keep wondering just WHO in their right minds would want ME to be even MORE of a character).